Research Associate (Gender Portfolio) - Inclusion Economics India Centre at IFMR

About the organization

Inclusion Economics India Centre (IEIC) is an initiative affiliated with Inclusion Economics at Yale University (YIE), founded and based out of the Yale Economic Growth Center and MacMillan Center. IEIC is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) Society.

Inclusion Economics’ vision is a world where research and dialogue ensure economic justice, social opportunity and environmental protection. Drawing upon economics, political science, and related fields, we conduct cutting-edge research to understand how policy can promote inclusive, accountable economies and societies. Our core research focuses on gender as it relates to labour economics and broader economic empowerment; political economy and governance; and climate and environmental economics. We also aim to build a culture of evidence and increase data literacy in the public sector, strengthening leaders’ ability to identify and implement evidence-informed policies. Throughout the research life cycle, we engage closely with policy counterparts to ensure we address questions of immediate relevance, and we regularly communicate data-driven insights with policy counterparts and the general public.

The role

We are looking for a Research Associate to work on an ambitious multi-year, at-scale, policy research initiative with the Government of Madhya Pradesh and PRADAN. The project focuses on understanding general equilibrium effects of increasing women’s labour force participation by giving women more control on their MGNREGS earning at scale on prices, wages, labor force participation and norms around women’s work.

It is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in a career as an applied economics researcher. This position requires a self-starting candidate, who enjoys working directly with academics and policymakers on cutting edge research.

Responsibilities

Research Associates work closely with Research Managers & Principal Investigators who guide and supervise them in their various tasks and work closely with field staff to perform a variety of tasks including, but not limited to:

• Leading the day-to-day implementation of primary research (scoping, surveying, project implementation) – including the management of field personnel, and reporting for the project.
• Identify and manage threats to the research design with support from Research Managers and Principal Investigators
• Working with implementing partners and government officials to ensure that intervention designs are in line with the research and policy objectives
• Supporting the government’s adoption of evidence in MGNREGS-related priority areas as an embedded fellow in the government department
• Supporting research professors in ensuring all field and data activities are in compliance with IRB and field safety protocols
• Collect, clean and analyze administrative data from policy partners and government agencies
• Conduct data cleaning, manipulation, and analysis using multiple primary and secondary data sources
• Review and report on academic literature of requested topics in support of policy briefs and research projects
• Contribute to analysis and writing of policy briefs for various government partners and case studies on Inclusion Economics India project components
• Others, as required.

Basic qualifications

• A Bachelor's/Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, public policy, environment or related fields
• Fluency and excellent communication skills (verbal and written) in English and Hindi
• Strong potential/familiarity in setting up and executing primary data collection
• Proven analytical skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Stata
• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and is a team player
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
• Ability to work independently and in rural locations.

Preferred qualifications

• Master's degree or above in economics or related field
• Familiarity with MGNREGs and SRLM initiatives
• Candidate should have strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to engage with policy partners of various levels
• Experience working with large datasets
• Proficiency in SurveyCTO/ODK.

Principal investigators

Rohini Pande, Yale University and Yale Inclusion Economics

Simone Schaner, University of Southern California

Charity Troyer Moore, Ohio State University

Erica Field, Duke University

Lisa Ho, Columbia University

Urmi Bhattacharya, Inclusion Economics India Centre

Location: Bhopal, India

Length of commitment: 1-2 Years.